November 13, 2008

Hawaiian Airlines Acquires New Airbus A330-200 Aircraft

by ssavage

Hawaiian Airlines has acquired another new wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft, which joins two other A330s announced recently.

The airline has also negotiated delivery of two of the new aircraft in the second quarter of 2010, beginning Hawaiian Airlines's transition to a new long-range fleet two years earlier than originally planned.

The three new A330s are in addition to the agreement that Hawaiian announced in February 2008 to purchase up to 24 new Airbus aircraft.

The most recent A330 acquisition is being leased from CIT; the other two are being leased from AWAS. The CIT aircraft and one of the AWAS aircraft will join the fleet in 2010, with the other AWAS aircraft joining the fleet in 2011.

In February 2008, Hawaiian Airlines signed a purchase agreement with Airbus to acquire six A330-200 aircraft and six A350XWB-800 (extra wide-body) aircraft direct from the manufacturer, with purchase rights for an additional six A330-200s and six A350XWB-800s.

The first deliveries of A330s under Hawaiian's purchase agreement with Airbus will join the fleet in 2012, with the A350s scheduled for delivery starting in 2017. The purchase agreement has a total list-price value of approximately $4.4 billion, if the purchase rights to all 24 aircraft are exercised.

Mark Dunkerley, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, said: "These commitments to increasing the size of our fleet and to bringing the new aircraft to Hawaii two years earlier than planned deepen Hawaiian's already substantial investment in our home state and its economy."